Five Paraguayan workers died after an empty fuel tank barge exploded at a mooring on the Paraguay River near Asunción, triggering naval, prosecutorial and labour investigations, according to Paraguay’s Agencia IP.
The blast occurred on Saturday in the Zanja H area near Beterete Cué, in Presidente Hayes department, on the right bank of the river opposite Asunción’s Costanera Sur. Paraguay’s General Naval Prefecture initially put the toll at at least four dead.
The casualty count was later confirmed at five fatalities and one survivor. They were carrying out cleaning and maintenance work on the barge when the explosion occurred. The vessel had previously carried fuel but was empty at the time of the accident.
Naval prefect Óscar Chamorro said the cause of the deflagration had not been established and would require work by naval experts and prosecutors. Prosecutor Rolando Rivas, head of Criminal Unit No 2 at the Villa Hayes zonal prosecutor’s office, is leading the criminal investigation.
Prosecutorial teams, police criminalistics officers, a forensic doctor, volunteer firefighters and the Paraguayan Navy inspected the scene, photographed the site and collected evidence.
Paraguay’s Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security has also opened an inspection. Its labour inspectors are reviewing the working conditions, the victims’ employment status and whether the company complied with labour, health and safety obligations.
LPG Emprendimientos y Servicios SA is a Paraguayan company within Grupo Líneas Panchita G, whose roots date back to the 1970s. The group has activities in inland waterway transport, dredging, logistics and shipbuilding on the Paraguay-Paraná waterway.
Astillero Aguapé is the group’s shipbuilding and repair business, covering grain barges, tank barges, container barges, motor vessels and push boats.